* Victory Road's length has been drastically shortened, and no longer includes the barriers, boulders, trainers, and pressure sensors. Trainers can be found outside, but no longer in Victory Road itself.

* Victory Road's length has been drastically shortened, and no longer includes the barriers, boulders, trainers, and pressure sensors. Trainers can be found outside, but no longer in Victory Road itself.

* Viridian Forest has been reduced to shrubs, and wild Pokémon can only be caught in the grass of what used to be {{Rt|2}}.

* Viridian Forest has been reduced to shrubs, and wild Pokémon can only be caught in the grass of what used to be {{Rt|2}}.

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* Route 23 has been reduced to a single inside room that leads to Route 22 and Mt. Silver.

Pokémon Gold Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター 金Pocket Monsters Gold) and Pokémon Silver Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター 銀Pocket Monsters Silver) were the fifth and sixth Pokémon games to be released in Japan, on November 21, 1999. Like Red and Green before them, they are paired versions, with little difference aside from available Pokémon.

As Pokémon had become an international phenomenon already with the release of Red, Blue, and Yellow in North America and other regions, the translated versions of these games were greatly expected, and arrived Stateside on October 15, 2000. Again, much like Red and Green/Blue, Gold and Silver were followed by a third version with minor changes, Pokémon Crystal, a year later.

Gold and Silver brought with them many changes to the Pokémon world, as the first "new" games. Unlike Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow; Gold and Silver take place in the Johto region, west of the region that the original games take place in, Kanto. Despite this, Kanto is visitable later in the game. The player begins his journey in New Bark Town, which is fittingly known as "the Town Where Winds of a New Beginning Blow."

Plot

Team Rocket has returned with a new attitude, since the disappearance of their leader Giovanni, and once again tries to take over the world, starting with the Johto region. They begin with petty things (such as cutting off the tails of Slowpoke to sell as food for a high price) before becoming more devious, such as a plan to use radio frequencies to artificially induce evolution in some Pokémon, as well as trying to contact their missing leader using radio broadcasts.

The player is called to Professor Elm's lab to run an errand. He gives the choice of taking along one of three different Pokémon. Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile. The player, known by default as Gold, meets Kanto's own Professor Oak during an errand for Elm. Oak, convinced that Gold has started his own Pokémon journey, gives him a Pokédex. On the way back Gold is attacked by a spiteful and mysterious Pokémon trainer. Upon his return to New Bark Town, Gold is informed that someone has broke into Professor Elm's lab and has stolen a Pokémon, the same Pokémon that the Trainer from earlier battled with; even more so, the Trainer fits the description of the Pokémon thief. This character's default name is Silver. He will battle the player at certain points in the game to test the player's Pokémon; being defeated is an indication for the player to level up his or her team. He will always steal for his starter a Pokémon that has a type advantage over the player's chosen one. For example, if the player chooses Cyndaquil, a Template:Type2 Pokémon, he will choose Totodile, a Template:Type2 Pokémon, giving it an advantage over the Template:Type2 Cyndaquil.

Blurb

"Enter a whole new world, with new Pokémon to capture, train and battle! Meet Professor Elm and get the all-new Poké Gear, including map, radio, cell phone and clock. Set the clock then watch as day turns to night and events take place in real time–and be sure to keep an eye out for Pokémon that come out only at night!"

Connectivity

Pokémon Gold and Silver continued the tradition allowing players to trade Pokémon between two cartridges via a Game BoyLink Cable, but also revamped it as well. Gold and Silver (as well as Crystal) introduced backwards-connectivity to the trading processes, allowing players to trade with other Generation II games, as well as Red, Blue and Yellow (and Green, in Japan). This has to be done in order to complete the Pokédex without cheating or using glitches, since each of games has version exclusive Pokémon which cannot be obtained in another version.

Pokémon

Each game features 100 new Pokémon species, and pre-recorded data each of them, plus the 151 Pokémon of Generation I. Despite this, not all Pokémon are available to the player, regardless of version; trades must occur between players in order to complete their Pokédex without the use of cheats or glitches. Celebi is the only Pokémon in Gold and Silver that must be acquired through the use of attending either a Nintendo sponsored event, or cheating.

PokéGear

The PokéGear is received at the beginning of the game from the protagonist's mother. It has several functions, some of which will need to be unlocked during the game by receiving special expansion cards. The PokéGear displays the day of the week and the time of day, entered at the beginning of the game, a map of Johto (and later Kanto) once the Map Card is obtained, a cellphone, allowing the user to make calls to people that they've traded phone numbers with, and a radio which allows the player to get tips from Professor Oak and DJ Mary on Oak's Pokémon Talk, affect how active wild Pokémon are by playing Pokémon March or Pokémon Lullaby on the Pokémon Music station, or listen to the Lucky Channel to keep track of the Radio Tower's lottery promotion.

Apricorns

More specialized Poké Balls were introduced in these games. A Lure Ball is more effective if used against a Pokémon caught with a fishing rod, and a Friend Ball will make a Pokémon more comfortable and friendly to its trainer much more quickly. To obtain these balls, Apricorns must be picked from special plants found throughout Johto, and Kurt in Azalea Town will fashion these into the different balls based on their color. However, Kurt can only make one ball at a time, and players must wait until the next day for Kurt to finish the ball. Although these specialized Poké Balls and Apricorns were not in future generations, there were other specialized balls.

Kanto

After becoming the Pokémon League Champion, players can travel to Kanto, the region introduced in Generation I, and see how things have changed over the past three years:

Due to a power outage, a key is no longer required to open the door to Lt. Surge, and the garbage cans in his Gym are all empty (save for trash).

Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are no longer found in Kanto, logically because they have already been caught in Generation I. The Cerulean Cave and Mewtwo are also gone, though a man near the cave ruins does mention the dungeon, and a hidden item called the Berserk Gene can be found in the water near its former entrance.

Bill's house is still present at the Cerulean Cape, but Bill is currently visiting his family in Johto's Goldenrod City. The house is being watched over by his grandfather.

Blaine has moved his Gym to one of the Seafoam Islands due to Cinnabar's volcanic eruption. As a result, no wild Pokémon can be found in the Seafoam Islands.

Blue (Green in the Japanese versions), the rival of Generation I, is now the leader of the Viridian City Gym. Giovanni is nowhere to be seen, though he is clearly mentioned many times, as Team Rocket aims to find him.

Red, the Generation I protagonist, appears in Johto's Mt. Silver, serving as the game's true final challenge. His highest level Pokémon is a level 81 Pikachu. Red also has a Snorlax at level 75, a Blastoise, Venusaur, and Charizard, each at level 77, and a level 73 Espeon. The six Pokémon are specially obtainable in Pokémon Yellow.

The Copycat still lives in Saffron City, but has moved to another area of town. Her old house was demolished to make way for the Magnet Train station. As compensation, she received a free rail pass from a man at the station, which she gives away to the player after the return of her lost doll. According to her mother, this is the same doll that Red exchanged for TM31 (Mimic) in Generation I.

Kanto Gym Leaders use Generation II Pokémon in addition to Generation I Pokémon.

Remixes of most of the overworld and battle music from the Generation I games are used. Some notable exceptions include Cinnabar Island's music and the music from various Team Rocket hideouts.

Most routes were shortened, but cities and towns generally remained the same size except Celadon City, which shrank slightly.

The "coffee man" in Viridian City has now had his coffee, and says, "Hey, kid! I just had a double shot of espresso and I am wired!" He references the fact that in Generation I he taught the player how to catch Pokémon, and asks if the player believes him, but does not attempt to teach this time around.

The Safari Zone is closed while the warden is on a vacation. Instead, the Johto Bug-Catching Contest at the National Park takes its place. Through external game manipulation, an unused portal to the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City can be found. Players can use a GameShark or similar device to enter the unfinished Safari Zone.[1]

The Underground Path from Celadon City to Lavender Town has been sealed indefinitely, ostensibly due to vandalism. A sign cites local complaints about battles there.

Victory Road's length has been drastically shortened, and no longer includes the barriers, boulders, trainers, and pressure sensors. Trainers can be found outside, but no longer in Victory Road itself.

Viridian Forest has been reduced to shrubs, and wild Pokémon can only be caught in the grass of what used to be Route 2.

Route 23 has been reduced to a single inside room that leads to Route 22 and Mt. Silver.

New features

Gold and Silver introduced a number of features to the Pokémon video game franchise, many of which set a new standard for every game in the series that followed. Gold and Silver introduced the concept of storing items such as healing items, Poké Balls, and key items in separate compartments in the bag. The updated battle screen showed both how much experience points a Pokémon had until its next level and whether or not an encountered wild Pokémon's species has already been captured. Also, held items raised the bar for strategy, allowing players to outspeed opponents, heal ailments, restore HP in battle, boost element-specific attacks, or increase the Pokémon's happiness, among other uses.

A time system was also introduced. Throughout the game, Pokémon appearances are influenced by time of day: morning, day, and night. Hoothoot, for example, only appears at night (since it's an owl-like Pokémon). Certain events are also determined by the day of the week, like the Bug-Catching Contest which is held in Johto's National Park on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Depending on the day of the week, either "Pokémon March" or "Pokémon Lullaby" can be heard on the PokéGear radio. Pokémon March raises the chance of a Pokémon appearing when the player walks into the grass, while Pokémon Lullaby decreases that chance. Gold and Silver also introduced the concept of evolution by methods other than leveling, using an evolutionary stone, or trading.

Breeding

With the introduction of breeding, all Pokémon belong to one or two egg groups. It is important to note that legendary Pokémon cannot be bred; they are genderless, and will not breed, even with a Ditto (which can breed with any Pokémon capable of breeding).

A baby Pokémon will be born when a male Pokémon and a female Pokémon that share at least one egg group are left at the Pokémon Daycare. In the case of Pokémon that are always male (Hitmontop, Nidoking, Tauros, etc.), or Pokémon who can breed but whose gender is unknown (Magnemite, Voltorb), the only way to produce a baby from these species is by breeding them with a Ditto.

A baby Pokémon will inherit the species of its mother (or non-Ditto parent in the case of a Ditto breeding) and inheritable moves from its father (when it's not a Ditto). Fathers always pass down TM moves that the baby's species could learn, which are valuable (since some are only obtainable one time). If both parents know a move that the baby could learn by increasing its level, the baby is born knowing that move as well. Fathers may also pass down special moves called "egg moves" to the baby that it would not normally be able to learn by leveling up or evolving.

Shiny Pokémon

The game introduces Template:Shiny2 Pokémon, Pokémon which have a different coloring than their species has normally, and which appear very rarely (a 1 in 8,192 chance). In these games, shiny Pokémon often have better stats than regular Pokémon, but can never achieve maximum stats for that species. There is one exception to the shiny Pokémon system: a Red Gyarados can be found at the Lake of Rage. Since it is part of the storyline, it is impossible not to encounter this Pokémon.

Pokérus

Pokérus (a portmanteau of "Pokémon" and "virus") was introduced. Encountering a Pokémon with the virus is even rarer than encountering a shiny Pokémon, with the odds estimated to be somewhere around a 1 in 21,845 chance. Pokérus doubles the special experience (a concept adapted to later installments as effort values) that the player's Pokémon gain each time the infected Pokémon participates in battle (provided the battle is won and the infected Pokémon does not faint).

Type and stat changes

Two new types were introduced, Template:Type2 and Template:Type2 . These two types serve to balance the Template:Type2, which previously was only weak to Template:Type2 moves; however, Bug-types lacked any powerful offensive moves in past games. In addition, the Steel and Dark types also balanced the Template:Type2, which was only super effective against Normal-, Ice-, and Template:Type2s (all of which are rarely used in competitive battling); Steel and Dark are both weak against Fighting. Steel-type Pokémon are known for their very high defense; they are highly resistant to many types and their moves are strong against Ice and Rock-type Pokémon. Dark-types are immune to Psychic-type moves and have moves with malicious-sounding names, like "Bite"(previously of the Template:Type2) and "Thief", which are super-effective against Psychic-types. Dark-types are also strong against Template:Type2s, thus being the only type that has an attack advantage over Ghost-type Pokémon besides Ghost-type moves themselves. Dark-type Pokémon are also weak against Bug-type attacks.

Some type match-ups were changed as well. In Generation I Ghost-type moves had no effect on Psychic-types; this was changed to super-effective as it was in the Pokémon television series. Template:Type2 originally were effective against Bug-types and Bug-types ineffective against Poison; this was changed to Poison doing normal damage to Bug and Bug becoming not very effective against Poison, seriously limiting the effectiveness and usage of both Bug-types and Poison-types. Ice-type moves were also made not very effective against Template:Type2 (previously they did normal damage). In this version several moves had their type changed. For example, the move Gust was a Normal-type in the first generation games but is now a Template:Type2 move; the move Bite was a Normal-type move in the first generation, but now is Dark-type. Two Pokémon, Magnemite and Magneton are now Electric/Steel (in Generation I, they were pure Electric).

Another major change from the original games was the splitting of the Special stat into Special Attack and Special Defense. Again, this increased aspects of strategy, for Pokémon were now more specialized. Some were good special attackers, while others were better physical attackers; the same now held true for Defense and Special Defense. For example, Cloyster has a decent Special stat in Generation I, but in all later games, has a decent Special Attack, but low Special Defense.

Trivia

Copies of Pokémon Gold and Silver typically lose the ability to save after a period of about seven years, due to the internal battery running dry. However, the battery is replaceable with another one of the same kind, although replacing it will reset the game's data. The problem appears less often with Pokémon Crystal.

Pokémon Gold and Silver are the only paired versions where both the version mascot of the game played and the counterpart game's version mascot are both catchable without trades.

Pokémon Gold and Silver are the only paired versions where Pokémon sprite designs differ between the two games.

Pokémon Gold and Silver started the trend of having legendary Pokémon as mascots, and the trend of using types of jewelry or precious metals as names.

The Johto region's starters are the only set of main series starter Pokémon to remain solely their primary types of Grass, Fire, and Water throughout their evolution.

Pokémon Gold and Silver are the only Pokémon games which contain two regions with different names.

None of the in-game trades in Gold and Silver feature the player trading away or receiving a Generation II Pokémon, making them the only games in which a player must link up with another player to trade Pokémon of that generation.